My good friend Eric Cressey wrote an article not too long ago titled “Are You Doing Stupid Stuff in the Gym?.” In it he claimed that any healthy male under the age of 50 can and should be able to deadlift at least 400 lbs within two years of proper training; sometimes even faster than that.
Needless to say, Eric caught a lot of flack in the fitness community for saying such a bold statement.
Meet Pete Dupuis (Vice President of Cressey Performance). 364 days ago Pete weighed 160 lbs (at 6-1) and barely had enough flexibility to get low enough to the ground to perform a deadlift safely. I believe his first time performing a deadlift he used less than 100 lbs.
364 days later, Pete weighs roughly 200 lbs and he pulled 400 lbs……easily. And he totally made out with his girlfriend afterwards.
A few thoughts/comments:
1. Everyone has to start somewhere. Whether you’re a newbie or a world class powerlifter, we ALL started in the same boat (weak, weak, weak). If you would have asked Pete when he first started if he thought he would be pulling 400 lbs a year later, I’m sure he probably would have laughed. But he had a goal in mind and trained hard, and he won’t stop there. You shouldn’t either.
2. Sometimes less is better. I wrote an article not too long ago, titled “Training Disasters,” where I briefly discussed how I feel that many trainees deadlift BEFORE they’re ready. That’s to say, I think everyone should learn to deadlift, but not everyone can (or should) walk into their gym on day #1 and pull a bar from the floor. What’s nice about the deadlift is that it’s a movement that can be conformed to fit the needs of the lifter (and not vice versa). Pete started with less than 100 lbs and he made the proper progressions as he got more proficient. Long story short: train hard, but be patient. Make the proper progressions.
3. Training environment is huge. Never fails that when someone trains in an environment with like minded people, their progress almost always skyrockets.
4. For those who are curious. That’s Wu-Tang Clan playing in the background. Wu-Tang FOREVER!
